


’Tis the Season

by TheFairieQueen



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, Holiday Fic Exchange, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 08:23:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17158586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFairieQueen/pseuds/TheFairieQueen
Summary: Their tree looked like shit, and that was a nice way to describe it. (Modern AU)





	’Tis the Season

**Author's Note:**

> My DGM Secret Santa fic for Zvvoelf on Tumblr! Just some Christmasy Poker Pair, with these two dorks decorating their first tree together. ;3 I hope you like it! <3
> 
> Happy Holidays, everyone!

Their tree looked like shit.  
  
There was no other way to describe it. Even Allen, with his mask of politeness he could so easily slip on, found it difficult to call it anything more complimentary. The tree was small, and thin – not a real one, because Allen knew he would have been the one to get stuck cleaning up the pine needles (which he didn’t want to deal with when he had a _perfectly capable partner with him_ ). And while it didn’t look too horrendously fake, the branches were wispy and weak.  
  
Clearly, Tyki was not a person who should have ever been allowed to pick out a Christmas tree.  
  
Allen sighed and shook his head. “You know, if you wanted the Charlie Brown Christmas tree, you could have just told me,” Allen said, as his eyes lingered on the little tree. “I could have picked up one in five minutes rather than you being out for _hours_.”  
  
Tyki finished adjusting the tree. It was only a few feet high, and looked tiny compared to how towering Tyki’s frame was. He had placed it beside the window in their apartment, with crooked blinds and a string of lights haphazardly thrown up at the top of the window. Outside, the sky had already darkened despite it being hardly after 5PM.  
  
Tyki looked over at Allen, placing a hand on his hip. “What, you think I did _that_ bad a job?” Tyki asked, tone teasing. “You’re more a cheap-ass than I am – you would’ve chosen worse had you seen some of the prices.”  
  
“Doubt it,” Allen said. “I’m cheap, but I still have taste.”  
  
Tyki placed a hand over his heart, as though he had been struck with a blow. “I’m wounded. So very, _deeply_ wounded,” He said, before grinning. Tyki slouched back against the wall and a mischievous glint appeared in his molten-hued gaze. “But if my taste is so poor, I guess that means I don’t have to lift a finger to decorate it, huh?”  
  
Allen snorted. “Nice try.   You’re still helping.”  
  
Tyki exhaled, as he watched Allen pull out a flimsy cardboard box. Inside, he caught a glimpse of ornaments and garland.  
  
“Making the soon-to-be birthday boy work so hard. You’re a cruel one,” Tyki commented, though he was already pulling some garland out of the box. It was the cheap, silvery kind that glinted like aluminum, and seemed to shed with each motion.  
  
Allen laughed, a little dry, but still clearly amused. “It’s going to be _my_ birthday too, you jerk,” He said, before throwing another string of metallic-looking garland to Tyki. “So help, before I break up with you.”  
  
Despite it being a threat, it was a playful one that only caused Tyki’s grin to broaden. He chuckled, humor dancing in his eyes at Allen’s biting edge. “Certainly wouldn’t want that,” Tyki said, before throwing some of the garland around the tree.  
  
Allen almost rolled his eyes, but instead focused his attention on going back through the box. There was a variety of ornaments, with there being no real theme to them. It was largely a compilation of whatever Allen and Tyki had had to begin with – which, wasn’t much. There were some more tangled lights, and misplaced hooks, but with some luck Allen would be able to navigate through it all.  
  
Carefully, Allen began to pull out whatever loose hooks were in the box, placing them in a pile.   He started to do the same with the ornaments, trying his best to organize them so that they would be easier to place onto the tree after the garland and lights were on.  
  
Speaking of-  
  
“You got the lights out?” Tyki asked, as he finished stringing the garland around the tree.  
  
Allen looked over. Tyki had actually done a good job, spiraling the garland around the tree so it looked even, and he had even filled in the sparser areas so the tree didn’t appear as flimsy as it had. Returning his attention to the box, Allen reached in, and pulled out the string of lights.   
  
“Um,” Allen began to say, as he tried to find the end. The lights were knotted, and twisted up, clumped together in tangles. “They’re not exactly ready to go on the tree…”  
  
Tyki eyed the string of lights. “Looks like a hell of a challenge,” He said, before casually adding, “If it’s too much for you, I can give it a go.”  
  
A small switch went off in Allen’s head, and his face whipped over in Tyki’s direction. “I never said it was a _challenge_ ,” He pointed out, unable to keep the small tinge of heat from his voice. “I’ll get it untangled.”  
  
Tyki snickered. “Always so competitive – even with a string of lights.”  
  
Hearing this, Allen could feel a rush of determination, somewhat spite-fueled. However, he tried to to place his energy on untangling the strings – which, was proving to be a bit more tedious than Allen had anticipated.  
  
Allen frowned in concentration. _‘Come on,’_ He thoughts, as he worked to try to pull apart the knots and tangles.  
  
Tyki watched for a moment longer, arms crossed. There was an obnoxiously entertained look on his face, and finally, a small bit of laughter escaped his lips. “Shit, just stop already,” Tyki said, as he walked over to where Allen was sitting, cross-legged on the ground and beside the cardboard box. Kneeling down, Tyki reached over to take the lights. “Come on – hand them over.”  
  
Allen frowned. “You haven’t even let me mess with them for that long – I can do it.”  
  
“Didn’t say you couldn’t,” Tyki said, words smooth as he took the lights from Allen, carefully lacing his own fingers through the cords. “But it’s not a game you can cheat through, and at this rate, we’ll be up all night.”  
  
A small, defeated huff escaped Allen. “Fine – you can untangle the lights,” He said. Then, a slight smirk appeared on his lips. “If _you_ can do it without us being up all night.”  
  
Tyki’s eyes flickered up, golden irises flashing. “Are we betting on this?”  
  
“Are we?” Allen asked, now grinning. “Because I’m up for that.”  
  
Tyki’s eyes glanced over to the clock, then to Allen. “I’ll do it in _five_ minutes.”  
  
Allen beamed. “Okay,” He said, before a hint of playfulness glistened in his eyes. “But if you don’t, I get to pick what where we’re ordering food from tonight.”  
  
“Of course you’d bring food into this,” Tyki said. “But fine. Just don’t get too disappointed when you lose.”  
  
Allen didn’t say anything more to this, and instead pulled out his phone to set a timer on it.  
  
Once the timer started, Tyki got to work. He moved surprisingly quickly, though initially was struggling with the knotted clumps just as Allen had. But, Tyki soon was able to find one of the string ends, and started to weave it through the knots. It was a bit of a challenge at first, but soon enough Tyki had the cords unwoven.  
  
As Tyki finished the last of them, the timer went off.  
  
Tyki grinned. “Guess I’m the victor.”  
  
Allen turned the timer off, before crossing his arms. His face was slightly pinched in disapproval. “You better pick somewhere good tonight.”  
  
More chuckles, amused and filled with fondness. “Lucky you, we like similar things,” Tyki said, as his smile remained. “Guess I could still let you pick. Even though I _did_ win that one.”  
  
Allen’s expression shifted, and his lips upturned into a smile. “I can live with that.”  
  
“Good,” Tyki said, as he took the string of lights. “Now help me finish this shit. You were the one pushing to do it.”  
  
They both got back to work after that, returning their attention to the little Christmas tree. They added the lights next, filling in the areas were the garland didn’t. Once that was done, they went back for the ornaments, taking from the pile that Allen had already organized and placing them on the tree. There weren’t a lot, but considering the size of the tree, Tyki and Allen were able to spread the trinkets and decorative pieces over the tree without it looking too barren.  
  
Soon, the ornaments ran low, and Allen placed the last of them onto the tree. As soon as he completed this, Tyki went over to the nearest outlet to plug the lights in. The tree lit up instantly, with the warm glow of bright colors reflecting against the needles, garland, and ornaments.  
  
Allen stepped back, and looked back at it. “It actually looks way less like crap now. That’s an impressive transformation,” He said, with a small smile on his face.  
  
Tyki scoffed. “What a critic,” He said. “But I’m glad to know it’s met your standards.”  
  
Allen turned, about to say something. He froze though, as he was caught off guard by a small touch on his shoulder – and then, the sensation of a kiss being planted onto his lips. It was a small, simple one, but a gesture that took Allen by pleasant surprise.  
  
Allen smiled into the kiss, even as Tyki pulled away. As Tyki did, he kept his arm around Allen’s shoulder. “Merry Christmas.”  
  
Allen grinned, and allowed for Tyki to keep him pulled back. “Merry Christmas.”


End file.
